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Press
Release
Grading
of beach water quality released
The Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) today (July 6) released the latest
grading of beaches to inform the public about the water quality
of beaches in Hong Kong.
"Among
the 37 beaches, eight beaches are found to be in 'Good' condition
(Grade 1), 21 are 'Fair' (Grade 2) and eight are 'Poor' (Grade
3)," a spokesman for the EPD said.
"Grade
1" beaches are:
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South
Bay (S)
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Cheung
Sha Upper (S)
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Stanley
Main Beach (S)
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Discovery
Bay*
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Hap
Mun Bay (S)
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Tong
Fuk (S)
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Kiu
Tsui (S)
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Kwun
Yam Wan (S)
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"Grade
2" beaches are:
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Chung
Hom Kok (S)
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Cheung
Sha Lower
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Deep
Water Bay (S)
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Pui
O (S)
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Hairpin
(S)
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Lo
So Shing (S)
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Middle
Bay (S)
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Hung
Shing Yeh (S)
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Repulse
Bay (S)
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Tung
Wan, Cheung Chau (S)
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Shek
O (S)
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Butterfly
(S)
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St.
Stephen's Beach (S)
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Cafeteria
New (S)
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Turtle
Cove (S)
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Cafeteria
Old
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Clear
Water Bay Second Beach (S)
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Golden
Beach (S)
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Silverstrand
(S)
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Tung
Wan (Ma Wan) (S)
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Trio
(S)
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"Grade
3" beaches are:
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Big
Wave Bay (S)
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Casam
(S)
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Silvermine
Bay (S)
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Gemini
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Kadoorie
(S)
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Hoi
Mei Wan
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Clear
Water Bay First Beach (S)
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Lido
(S)
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The beach
with an asterisk is a non-gazetted beach while those with
(S) have shark prevention nets installed.
"Comparing
with the grading released last week, Hairpin has upgraded
from 'Grade 3' to 'Grade 2' and Silvermine Bay from 'Grade
4' to 'Grade 3'. Trio, Hung Shing Yeh and Tung Wan on Cheung
Chau have changed from 'Grade 1' to 'Grade 2' and Clear Water
Bay First Beach from 'Grade 2' to 'Grade 3'.
"The deterioration
of water quality of the beaches is mainly due to the heavy
rain in the past few weeks which flushed the pollutants from
the unsewered beach hinterland and polluted run-off into the
water," the spokesman said.
"During
the bathing season, beach grades will be released every week
before the weekend in order to provide timely information
for the weekend beach-goers.
"The latest
beach grading is also available from the EPD homepage at http://www.info.gov.hk/epd/
or the EPD's beach hotline at 2511 6666," he added.
Under
the grading system, beaches are classified into four grades
according to the level of E. coli in the water.
The beach
grading is calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of
the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
"Grade
4" would also be given to a beach when its last E. coli reading
exceeds a high figure irrespective of the geometric mean.
The spokesman
said: "At present, five gazetted beaches, namely Anglers',
Approach, Ting Kau, Castle Peak and Rocky Bay, are closed
to swimmers for the whole bathing season because of their
poor water quality or lack of beach facilities. The public
are advised not to swim at those closed beaches.
In general,
many beaches are likely to be more polluted than the beach
grades suggest during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers
should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after
a storm or heavy rainfall.
The public
are also advised to avoid swimming at the "Grade 4" beaches
until the water quality has improved.
End/Friday,
July 6, 2001
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